Systems and methods for crediting wagering activity

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are disclosed for provisionally crediting a financial account of a gaming environment based on player funds received by gaming devices in the form of wagers. The financial account can be maintained at a financial institution. The player funds can be currency, electronic funds, or combinations therefor. Once the currency is physically transferred to the financial institution, the provisional credit can be converted to a full credit. Similarly, for wagers using electronic funds, once the settled funds are received by the financial institution, the provisional credit can be converted to a full credit. Using provisional credits, benefits from the funds can be enjoyed by the gaming operator prior to the physical currency and/or settled funds being received and processed by the financial institution.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/562,971, filed Dec. 27, 2021, entitled SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORCREDITING WAGERING ACTIVITY, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/665,020, filed Oct. 28, 2019, entitled SYSTEMSAND METHODS FOR CREDITING WAGERING ACTIVITY, which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/833,655, filed Dec. 6, 2017,entitled SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CREDITING WAGERING ACTIVITY, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/627,516, filed Jun.20, 2017, entitled SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CREDITING WAGERING ACTIVITY,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/813,718,filed Jul. 30, 2015, entitled SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CREDITING WAGERINGACTIVITY, which claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 62/141,823, filed on Apr. 1, 2015, entitled SYSTEMSAND METHODS FOR CREDITING WAGERING ACTIVITY, the disclosures of whichare incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

Within gaming establishments, such as casinos, players can place wagersby supplying funds to a gaming device. The funds provided by the playerremain at the point of wagering (such as a slot machine, drop box, orother collection point) until a representative of the gamingestablishment, such as a member of a drop team, physically removes thefunds that were tendered by the player. The funds are then typicallytransported to a soft count room within the gaming establishment.Eventually, the collected funds are counted, bundled, and prepared fortransport to a financial institution for deposit. At a later point intime, an armored vendor physically transfers the bundled funds from thegaming establishment to the financial institution. Once the funds reachthe financial institution, they are eventually processed and depositedinto a financial account of the gaming establishment.

Based on this labor intensive and time consuming process, an undesirableamount of time can pass between when a wager is placed by the player andwhen a financial account of the gaming establishment is ultimatelycredited with the deposit. This period of time can be further extendedwhen financial institutions are not be available to accept cash depositsand/or when armored vendors are not available to transport the funds,such as over weekends, after hours, or on holidays. During this periodof time, the gaming establishment is not able to draw interest, use, orotherwise benefit from the funds that have been wagered by players atgaming devices of the gaming establishment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

It is believed that certain embodiments will be better understood fromthe following description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which like references indicate similar elements and inwhich:

FIGS. 1A-1B depict example system diagrams utilizing a funds managementserver to facilitate provisionally crediting of financial accounts basedon wagering activity in accordance with non-limiting embodiments.

FIG. 2 depicts an example system diagram utilizing a funds managementserver to facilitate provisionally crediting of a financial accountbased on wagering activity in accordance with another non-limitingembodiment.

FIG. 3 depicts an example system diagram utilizing a funds managementserver to facilitate provisionally crediting of a financial accountbased on wagering activity in accordance with yet another non-limitingembodiment.

FIG. 4 depicts an example system diagram utilizing a funds managementserver to facilitate provisionally crediting of a financial accountbased on wagering activity at a variety of different gaming devices inaccordance with one non-limiting embodiment.

FIG. 5 depicts an example system diagram utilizing a funds managementserver to facilitate provisionally crediting of a financial accountbased on wagering activity at a variety of different gaming devices inaccordance with one non-limiting embodiment.

FIG. 6 depicts an example system diagram utilizing a funds managementserver to facilitate provisionally crediting of a financial accountbased on wagering activity at a variety of different gaming devices inaccordance with one non-limiting embodiment.

FIG. 7 depicts an example message sequence chart in accordance with onenon-limiting embodiment.

FIG. 8 depicts an example message sequence chart in accordance withanother non-limiting embodiment.

FIG. 9 depicts an example message sequence chart in accordance withanother non-limiting embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure will now bedescribed to provide an overall understanding of the principles of thestructure, function, and use of the wager crediting processes disclosedherein. One or more examples of these non-limiting embodiments areillustrated in the accompanying FIGS. 1-8 , wherein like numbersindicate the same or corresponding elements throughout the examples.Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that devices andmethods specifically described herein and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings are non-limiting embodiments. The featuresillustrated or described in connection with one non-limiting embodimentmay be combined with the features of other non-limiting embodiments.Such modifications and variations are intended to be included within thescope of the present disclosure.

The systems and methods disclosed herein are described in detail by wayof examples. The examples discussed herein are examples only and areprovided to assist in the explanation of the systems and methodsdescribed herein. None of the features or components shown in thedrawings or discussed below should be taken as mandatory for anyspecific implementation of any of these devices and methods unlessspecifically designated as mandatory. For ease of reading and clarity,certain components or methods may be described solely in connection witha specific figure. In this disclosure, any identification of specifictechniques, arrangements, etc. are either related to a specific examplepresented or are merely a general description of such a technique,arrangement, etc. Identifications of specific details or examples arenot intended to be, and should not be, construed as mandatory orlimiting unless specifically designated as such. Any failure tospecifically describe a combination or sub-combination of componentsshould not be understood as an indication that any combination orsub-combination is not possible. It will be appreciated thatmodifications to disclosed and described examples, arrangements,configurations, components, elements, apparatuses, devices, systems,methods, etc. can be made and may be desired for a specific application.Also, for any methods described, regardless of whether the method isdescribed in conjunction with a flow diagram, it should be understoodthat unless otherwise specified or required by context, any explicit orimplicit ordering of steps performed in the execution of a method doesnot imply that those steps must be performed in the order presented butinstead may be performed in a different order or in parallel.

Reference throughout the specification to “various embodiments,” “someembodiments,” “one embodiment,” “some example embodiments,” “one exampleembodiment,” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature,structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentis included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases“in various embodiments,” “in some embodiments,” “in one embodiment,”“some example embodiments,” “one example embodiment, or “in anembodiment” in places throughout the specification are not necessarilyall referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particularfeatures, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitablemanner in one or more embodiments.

Throughout this disclosure, references to components or modulesgenerally refer to items that logically can be grouped together toperform a function or group of related functions. Like referencenumerals are generally intended to refer to the same or similarcomponents. Components and modules can be implemented in software,hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. The term “software”is used expansively to include not only executable code, for examplemachine-executable or machine-interpretable instructions, but also datastructures, data stores and computing instructions stored in anysuitable electronic format, including firmware, and embedded software.The terms “information” and “data” are used expansively and includes awide variety of electronic information, including executable code;content such as text, video data, and audio data, among others; andvarious codes or flags. The terms “information,” “data,” and “content”are sometimes used interchangeably when permitted by context. It shouldbe noted that although for clarity and to aid in understanding, someexamples discussed herein might describe specific features or functionsas part of a specific component or module, or as occurring at a specificlayer of a computing device (for example, a hardware layer, operatingsystem layer, or application layer), those features or functions may beimplemented as part of a different component or module or operated at adifferent layer of a communication protocol stack. Those of ordinaryskill in the art will recognize that the systems, apparatuses, devices,and methods described herein can be applied to, or easily modified foruse with, other types of equipment, can use other arrangements ofcomputing systems such as client-server distributed systems, and can useother protocols, or operate at other layers in communication protocolstacks, than are described.

The presently disclosed system and methods can generally allow for agaming establishment (or operator thereof) to have access to certainfunds before the funds are physically deposited into a financial accountof the gaming operator or a financial account that is otherwise held infavor of the gaming operator. Example gaming establishments can include,without limitation, brick and mortar casinos, virtual casino, gamingsalons, off track betting parlors, race tracks, among other locationsthat have gaming devices or otherwise offer wagering to patrons, such asconvenience stores, grocery stores, bars, or the like. Other examples ofgaming establishments can include online gaming environments, such asonline poker, online sports wagering, and online fantasy sportswagering. While the level of access granted to a gaming establishmentcan vary based on financial institution policy or a number of otherconsiderations, in accordance with the present disclosure, a gamingestablishment can accrue interest, or otherwise benefit, from wageredfunds before the funds are physically removed from a gamingestablishment and provided to the financial institution in the form of acash deposit. In accordance with some embodiments, utilizing a fundsmanagement server a gaming establishment can monitor wagering at some orall of the plurality of its gaming devices (such as slot machines,electronic table games, traditional table games, and the like), andprovide wager reporting to a financial institution. Generally, the wagerreporting can identify an amount of net new cash received by the gamingestablishment. The wager reporting can be provided to the financialinstitution using network communications in real-time, substantiallyreal-time, in batch format, periodically, on-demand, or in accordancewith any other suitable cycle or routine. In some embodiments the wagerreport is a data file, although this disclosure is not so limited. Uponreceiving the wager reporting over a communications network, thefinancial institution can post a provisional credit to the financialaccount of the gaming establishment. The amount of net new cashidentified on the wager reporting can include, for example, player fundsprovided to one or more gaming devices in the form of wagers. In thisregard, the player funds can be tendered by the player in any suitableformat, such as a physical currency (bills or coins) or electronictransfer of funds using a payment vehicle. For simplicity, a “paymentvehicle” generally refers to any type of financial alternative tocurrency, such as credit cards, debit cards, smart cards, single-usecards, pre-paid cards, general purpose reloadable card, and the like, aswell as other form of electronic payment, such as digital wallets andother online fund transfers. Additional examples of utilizing electronicfunds for gaming can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,708,809; 8,777,725;8,998,708; U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2014/0324680; and U.S. Pat. App. Pub.No 2015/0011283, each of which is hereby incorporated by referenceherein in its respective entirety.

In view of the received wager reporting, the financial institution canbe configured to apply a credit for the wagered funds, referred toherein as a “provisional credit” since the crediting occurs in advanceof the receipt of the actual funds. The provisional credit can be forthe full amount of wagered funds or a reduced amount of the wageredfunds. For example, the provisional credit can be applied for 50%, 75%,or 90% of the amount provided in wager report. In some embodiments, theparticular percentage can vary based on a number of factors, such as theamount of wagering, the gaming establishment, historical financialfigures, the type of gaming device(s) receiving the wager, and so forth.Additionally or alternatively, the provisional credit amount applied toan account can be limited to a maximum amount of funds. Upon thefinancial institution posting the provisional credit, the gamingestablishment can generally begin to benefit from those funds, such asby accruing interest or otherwise utilizing or accessing the funds asworking capital.

In accordance with some embodiments, gaming devices on a gamingestablishment floor can function as a “virtual vault”, as player fundsdeposited into the gaming device by a player (or dealer on behalf of theplayer) can be made available to the gaming establishment prior to thefunds being physically removed from the gaming device for furtherprocessing and handling, as described in more detail below. With regardto players utilizing a payment vehicle to fund wagers, either at aphysical gaming device or via an online environment, the gamingestablishment can have access to the electronic funds before the fundsare settled to the gaming establish through the typical payment networksettlement process. Thus, in some implementations, gaming devices on thefloor of a gaming establishment can be a virtual vault, therebyfacilitating the gaming operator to access net new wagered funds uponthose funds being tendered to the virtual vaults.

Eventually, with respect to currency-based wagers, the gamingestablishment will tend to physically accessing the funds and collectingthe funds that were wagered so the funds can be counted and bundled fortransport to the financial institution for cash deposit. In some cases,the cash deposit may occur more than 1-2 business days after the wagerwas originally placed by the player. The financial institution receivingthe cash deposit can be the same or different financial institution asthe financial institution that issued the provisional credits. When theis the financial institution receiving the cash deposit is the financialinstitution that issued the provisional credit, once the funds arephysically deposited at the financial institution, treasury managementtechniques can be used by the financial institution or affiliated entityto account for any differences between the provisional credit and theamount deposited, with the resulting credit amount being applied to thefinancial account (i.e., the full credit). For situations in which thedeposited amount is less than the amount of the provisional credit,interest that was earned on the provisional credit beyond the depositamount can be rescinded and/or other benefits can be revoked orreversed.

In some embodiments, a gaming establishment may be affiliated with twoor more financial institutions. For example, a first financialinstitution can be used to provide provisional crediting and a second,unaffiliated financial institution can be used by the gamingestablishment to receive its cash deposits. As described in more detailbelow, once the physical funds in a gaming device are accessed,provisional credits provided by the first financial institutionassociated with those physical funds can be reversed. The physical fundscan then be collected, counted and eventually deposited in a secondfinancial institution. The gaming operator can still gain a firstbenefit from the funds while they remain in the gaming device (i.e., inthe form of provisional credits). While it will not necessarily gain abenefit from those funds while they are being transported from thegaming environment to the second financial institution, it will gain asecond benefit once they are deposited into the an account at the secondfinancial institution (i.e., in the form of full credits).

The funds management server can collect wagering information from anysuitable gaming device that can provide financial information usingnetwork communications. In one embodiment, the funds management servercan utilize data collected from a slot management system (SMS), a tablemanagement system (TMS), a casino management system (CMS), a cagemanagement system, and/or other gaming computing systems which serve asa centralized processing hub for slot machines, table games and/or otherwagering or fund transfers within a gaming environment. In oneembodiment, the funds management server can utilize data collected fromgaming devices such as drop boxes at table games, registers/terminals atcasino cages, kiosks, wagers placed at sports/race books, poker rooms,and so forth. For online or virtual gaming establishments, the fundsmanagement server can utilize data collected by various gaming orpayment processing servers associated with the online or virtual gaming.The gaming establishment can electronically communicate with a fundsmanagement server using any suitable communication techniques orprotocols. In some environments, such messages are received via acommunications network, such as the SPAN™ network offered by SightlineInteractive LLC of Las Vegas, Nevada. In some embodiments, thecommunications are received through an application programing interface(API) or other web-based messaging. In some embodiments, a gaming devicecan be configured to communicate wagering information directly to afunds management server. Irrespective of the gaming device used tocollect or receive the wager, in accordance with the systems and methodsdisclosed herein, a gaming establishment can enjoy the benefits fromprovisional credits for a period of time before the physical fundsassociated with that wager are physically deposited or otherwise settledto a financial institution.

FIG. 1A depicts an example system diagram 100 utilizing a fundsmanagement server 108 to facilitate provisionally crediting of afinancial account 104 based on wagering activity at a gaming device 114in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment. The gaming device 114can be any type of gaming system, unit, device, or machine that canelectronically provide a wager report 112 to a gaming computing system110 over a communications network. For example, in one embodiment, thegaming device 114 can be a slot machine that is in communication with aslot management system (SMS) of a gaming environment. In anotherembodiment, the gaming device 114 is a networked drop box or billcollector that can be associated with, for example, one or more tablegames, a poker room, a race/sports book, or other wagering arena inwhich funds are collected from a player for wagering. The wager report112 can indicate the amount of currency 118, sometimes referred to asnet new cash, as well as other relevant information, such as timestamps,device ID, player information, and so forth. The wager report 112 canalso delineate between forms of funds, such as a paper currency, coins,and vouchers. The wager report 112 can be provided to the gamingcomputing system 110 in real-time, substantially real-time, in batch, orin response to a request from the gaming computing system 110, forexample.

The gaming computing system 110 can be, for example, a casino managementsystem (CMS), a slot management system (SMS), a table management system(TMS), a casino management system (CMS), a cage management system and/orany other system or collection of systems that generally monitorwagering activity, as well as combinations thereof. FIG. 1A depicts thegaming device 114 communicating directly with the gaming computingsystem 110 for schematic purposes. One skilled in the art shouldappreciate that any number of additional device, services, switches,routers, gateways, and other network hardware elements can be includedin the communication chain. In any event, the gaming computing system110 can be in networked communication with a funds management server108. The funds management server 108 can be remote system or, in someembodiments, can be considered a component of the gaming computingsystem 110. The gaming computing system 110 can be in communication withthe funds management server 108 over communications network, such as theSPAN™ network offered by Sightline Interactive LLC of Las Vegas, Nevada.The gaming computing system 110 can communicate the wagering informationto the funds management server 108. In some embodiments, the wagerreport 112 received from the gaming device 114 is passed along to thefunds management server 108. As may be desired, a plurality of wagerreports 112 can be aggregated before transmitting the wageringinformation to the funds management server 108. Furthermore, thewagering information can be provided to the funds management server 108in real-time, substantially real-time, in batch, upon other intervals orperiods, or based on certain triggers or events.

The funds management server 108 can communicate with both the gamingcomputing system 110 and one or more financial institutions 102. In someembodiments, there is a one-to-one relationship between a fundsmanagement server 108 and a gaming computing system 110. In otherembodiments, the funds management server 108 can service many differentgaming computing systems 110 in a one-to-many relationship. Similarly,the funds management server 108 can be in networked communication withone or more financial institutions 102, as may be needed based on wherethe financial accounts of a particular gaming establishment aremaintained (i.e., in a many-to-many relationship).

The funds management server 108 can communicate financial information tothe financial institution 102. This financial information isschematically illustrated as wager report 106. The wager report 106 caninclude any information as may be needed by the financial institution102 to post a provisional credit to the financial account 104. The wagerreport 106 can include, for example, the amount of net new cashcollected at one or more gaming devices 114 over a certain time period,such as since a previous wager report was transmitted. In someembodiments, the wager report 106 is transmitted to the financialinstitution 102 periodically, such as an hourly or daily. In someembodiments, the wager report 106 is transmitted to the financialinstitution 102 in real-time or substantially real-time as the gamingcomputing system 110 transmits wagering information to the fundsmanagement server 108. In some embodiments, wagering information isaggregated at the gaming computing system 110. In some embodiments thefunds management server 108 aggregates wagering information prior totransmitting to the financial institution 102.

The financial institution 102 can post a provisional credit to thefinancial account 104 that is associated with the gaming establishmentat which the wagering occurred. The value of the provisional credit canbe for the full amount of funds identified in the wager report 106 orfor a partial amount. For example, the provisional credit can be givenfor 50%, 75%, or 90% of the amount provided in wager report.Additionally or alternatively, the value of the provisional credit canbe subject to minimum or maximum thresholds. For example, theprovisional credit will only be posted if it exceeds a certain dollaramount, but provisional credits will only be posted up to a certaindollar amount. Upon the financial institution posting the provisionalcredit, the gaming establishment can generally begin to benefit fromthose funds, such as by accruing interest or otherwise utilizing thefunds.

Still referring to FIG. 1A, eventually currency 116 will be physicallyremoved from the gaming device 114 for processing by the gamingestablishment. As is known in the art, the currency 116 can betransferred to a count room for counting and bundling. The bundled fundsare eventually physically transported, typically via armored vendor, toa branch of the financial institution 102 maintaining the financialaccount 104 of the gaming establishment. In accordance with the presentdisclosure, some or all of the funds delivered to the financialinstitution 102 may have already been credited to the financial account104 in the form of a provisional credit. Through treasury managementtechniques, the financial institution 102 can process the physical fundsduring an intake process and rectify and convert the provisional creditsto full credits, as may be appropriate. In some cases, a provisionalcredit may have been issued that is greater than the amount of thecorresponding physical funds that are eventually deposited. Any interestor other benefit that may have been accrued by the gaming establishmentcan be rescinded, as may be needed based on accounting procedures forprocessing provisional credits.

Referring now to FIG. 1B, an example system diagram 101 is depicted thatutilizes the funds management server 108 to facilitate provisionallycrediting of a first financial account 104A based on wagering activityat the gaming device 114. In this embodiment, the currency 116 will bephysically removed from the gaming device 114 and eventually bedeposited in a second financial institution 102B. The currency 116within the gaming device 114 can be retrieved through the point ofaccess 115. In some embodiments, the point of access 115 is a door,panel, gate, drawer, or other assembly that restricts access and istypically in a closed position. The point of access 115 can be opened toretrieve the currency 118, or in some cases, for other events, such asto clear a jam, repair the gaming device, and so on. The gaming device114 can monitor the point of access 115 and when a condition issatisfied (i.e., the point of access is opened), the gaming device 114can provide an indication to the gaming computing system 110, shown inFIG. 1B as point of access status 113. In some cases the point of access115 may be accesses relatively frequently (i.e., hourly or daily) or inother cases, the point of access 115 may remained closed for longerperiods of time (such as days or weeks).

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1B, and as shown in FIG. 1A, thewager report 112 can indicate the amount of currency 118, sometimesreferred to as net new cash, as well as other relevant information, suchas timestamps, device ID, player information, and so forth. The wagerreport 112 can also delineate between forms of funds, such as a papercurrency, coins, and vouchers. The wager report 112 can be provided tothe gaming computing system 110 in real-time, substantially real-time,in batch, or in response to a request from the gaming computing system110, for example. The gaming computing system 110 can communicate thewagering information to the funds management server 108. In someembodiments, the wager report 112 received from the gaming device 114 ispassed along to the funds management server 108. As may be desired, aplurality of wager reports 112 can be aggregated before transmitting thewagering information to the funds management server 108. Furthermore,the wagering information can be provided to the funds management server108 in real-time, substantially real-time, in batch, upon otherintervals or periods, or based on certain triggers or events. The fundsmanagement server 108 can communicate with both the gaming computingsystem 110 and one or more financial institutions 102A, 102B.

In the illustrated embodiment, the funds management server 108 inclosed-loop communication with the first financial institution 102A. Thefunds management server 108 can communicate financial information to thefirst financial institution 102A, which is schematically illustrated aswager report 106. The wager report 106 can include any information asmay be needed by the first financial institution 102A to post aprovisional credit to the first financial account 104A. The wager report106 can include, for example, the amount of net new cash collected atone or more gaming devices 114 over a certain time period, such as sincea previous wager report was transmitted. In some embodiments, the wagerreport 106 is transmitted to the first financial institution 102Aperiodically, such as an hourly or daily. In some embodiments, the wagerreport 106 is transmitted to the first financial institution 102A inreal-time or substantially real-time as the gaming computing system 110transmits wagering information to the funds management server 108. Insome embodiments, wagering information is aggregated at the gamingcomputing system 110. In some embodiments the funds management server108 aggregates wagering information prior to transmitting to the firstfinancial institution 102A.

Similar to FIG. 1A, the first financial institution 102A can post aprovisional credit to the first financial account 104A that isassociated with the gaming establishment at which the wagering occurred.In this embodiment, however, the first financial account 104A is adifferent account then will ultimately receive cash deposits. The valueof the provisional credit posted to the first financial account 104A canbe for the full amount of funds identified in the wager report 106 orfor a partial amount. For example, the provisional credit can be givenfor 50%, 75%, or 90% of the amount provided in wager report.Additionally or alternatively, the value of the provisional credit canbe subject to minimum or maximum thresholds. For example, theprovisional credit will only be posted if it exceeds a certain dollaramount, but provisional credits will only be posted up to a certaindollar amount. Upon the first financial institution 102A posting theprovisional credit, the gaming establishment can generally begin tobenefit from those funds, such as by accruing interest or otherwiseutilizing the funds.

Still referring to FIG. 1B, subsequent to the provisional credit beingposted by the first financial institution 102A, the currency 116 willeventually be physically removed from the gaming device 114 forprocessing by the gaming establishment for deposit at the secondfinancial institution 102B. To physically remove the currency 116, thepoint of access 115 can be utilized. Upon detection of the access event,the gaming device 114 can transmit the access status 113 so that thegaming computing system 110 receives notice of the access event. Thegaming computing system 110 can relay this information to the fundsmanagement server 108. The funds management server 108 can then issue areversal command 107 to the first financial institution 102A. Thereversal command 107 can include an amount of provisional credits thatare to be reversed. This amount can be based on, for example, the amountof currency 116 that was known to be in the hopper of the gaming device114 (or collection of gaming devices 114) that experienced the accessevent. This amount of currency 116 can be the amount of currencycollected by the gaming device 114 since the previously occurring accessevent. The currency 116 can be physically removed from the gaming device114 and transferred to a count room for counting and bundling, asdescribed above. The bundled funds are eventually physicallytransported, typically via armored vendor, to a branch of the secondfinancial institution 102B maintaining the second financial account 104Bof the gaming establishment. The funds can then be deposited into thesecond financial account 104B for the benefit of the gaming operator.Accordingly, in this embodiment, the gaming operator can gain benefitfrom the currency while it is maintained within the gaming device (i.e.via the provisional credits posted by the first financial institution),thereby reducing the need for a gaming operator to physically remove thecurrency from the gaming device to gain the benefit from the currency.

While FIGS. 1A-1B depict the provisional crediting of currency 118 thatis wagered at a gaming device 114, this disclosure is not so limited.Referring now to FIG. 2 , an example system diagram 200 is depicted thatutilizes a funds management server 208 to facilitate provisionallycrediting of a financial account 204 based on wagering activity at agaming device 214 when a player utilizes electronic funds 236. Theelectronic funds 236 can be linked to an account 232 at a financialinstitution 230. In some embodiments, the linkage 234 is a paymentvehicle, such as a general purpose reloadable card or otherwise linkedto a digital wallet, bank account, or other repository of funds. Forillustrative purposes, the financial institution 230 depicted in FIG. 2is the issuer of the payment vehicle utilized by the player forwagering. Similar to FIGS. 1A-1B, the gaming device 214 can be any typeof gaming system, unit, device, or machine that can electronicallyprovide a wager report 212 to a gaming computing system 210 over acommunications network. For example, in one embodiment, the gamingdevice 214 can be a slot machine that is in communication with a slotmanagement system (SMS) of a gaming environment. In another embodiment,the gaming device 214 is a networked drop box, POS terminal, or otherfund input device that can be associated with, for example, one or moretable games, a poker room, a race/sports book, or other wagering arenain which electronic funds 236 are collected from a player for wagering.In another embodiment, the gaming device 214 represents and online orvirtual gaming environment. The wager report 212 can indicate the amountof electronic funds 236, sometimes referred to as net new cash, as wellas other relevant information, such as timestamps, device ID, paymentvehicle information, player information, and so forth. The wager report212 can be provided to the gaming computing system 210 in real-time,substantially real-time, in batch, or in response to a request from thegaming computing system 210, for example.

Similar to FIGS. 1A-1B, the gaming computing system 210 can be, forexample, a casino management system (CMS), a slot management system(SMS), a table management system (TMS), a casino management system(CMS), a cage management system and/or any other system or collection ofsystems that generally monitor wagering activity, as well ascombinations thereof. While FIG. 2 depicts the gaming device 214communicating directly with the gaming computing system 210 forschematic purposes, any number of additional device, services, switches,routers, gateways, and other network hardware elements can be includedin the communication chain. In any event, the gaming computing system210 can be in networked communication with a funds management server208. The funds management server 208 can be remote system or, in someembodiments, can be considered a component of the gaming computingsystem 210. The gaming computing system 210 can be in communication withthe funds management server 208 over communications network, such as theSPAN™ network offered by Sightline Interactive LLC of Las Vegas, Nevada.The gaming computing system 210 can communicate the wagering informationto the funds management server 208. In some embodiments, the wagerreport 212 received from the gaming device 212 is passed along to thefunds management server 208. As may be desired, a plurality of wagerreports 212 can be aggregated before transmitting the wageringinformation to the funds management server 208. Furthermore, thewagering information can be provided to the funds management server 208in real-time, substantially real-time, in batch, upon other intervals orperiods, or based on certain triggers or events.

The funds management server 208 can communicate with both the gamingcomputing system 210 and one or more financial institutions 202. In someembodiments, there is a one-to-one relationship between a fundsmanagement server 208 and a gaming computing system 210. In otherembodiments, the funds management server 208 can service many differentgaming computing systems 210 in a one-to-many relationship. Similarly,the funds management server 208 can be in networked communication withone or more financial institutions 202, as may be needed based on wherethe financial accounts of a particular gaming establishment aremaintained (i.e., in a many-to-many relationship).

The funds management server 208 can communicate financial information tothe financial institution 202. This financial information isschematically illustrated as wager report 206. The wager report 206 caninclude any information as may be needed by the financial institution202 to post a provisional credit to the financial account 104. The wagerreport 206 can include, for example, the amount of net new cashcollected at one or more gaming devices 114 via electronic funds 236over a certain time period, such as since a previous wager report wastransmitted. In some embodiments, the wager report 206 is transmitted tothe financial institution 202 periodically, such as an hourly or daily.In some embodiments, the wager report 206 is transmitted to thefinancial institution 202 in real-time or substantially real-time as thegaming computing system 210 transmits wagering information to the fundsmanagement server 108. In some embodiments, wagering information isaggregated at the gaming computing system 210. In some embodiments thefunds management server 208 aggregates wagering information prior totransmitting to the financial institution 202.

Similar to the embodiment described above with respect to FIG. 1A, thefinancial institution 202 can post a provisional credit to the financialaccount 204 that is associated with the gaming establishment at whichthe wagering occurred. Eventually settled funds 218 will be receivedfrom the financial institution 230 (i.e., via an automated clearinghouse(ACH) transaction) based on the transaction that previously occurred atthe gaming device 214 to initiate the wagering. In accordance with thepresent disclosure, some or all of the funds settled to the financialinstitution 202 may have already been credited to the financial account204 in the form of a provisional credit. Through treasury managementtechniques, the financial institution 202 can process the settled fundsand rectify and convert the provisional credits to full credits, as maybe appropriate.

FIG. 3 depicts an example system diagram 300 in which a gaming device314 can received multiple modalities of player funds 338, illustrated ascurrency 318 and electronic funds 336. As shown, a funds managementserver 308 can facilitate provisionally crediting of a financial account304 based on wagering activity at a gaming device 314 when a playerwagers with player funds 338. With regard to electronic funds 336, thefunds can be linked to an account 332 at a financial institution 330.Similar to previously described embodiments, the gaming computing system310 can be in networked communication with a funds management server308. The funds management server 308 can be remote system or, in someembodiments, can be considered a component of the gaming computingsystem 310. The gaming computing system 310 can be in communication withthe funds management server 108 over communications network, such as theSPAN™ network offered by Sightline Interactive LLC of Las Vegas, Nevada.The gaming computing system 310 can communicate the wagering informationto the funds management server 308. In some embodiments, the wagerreport 312 received from the gaming device 312 is passed along to thefunds management server 308. The funds management server 308 cancommunicate with both the gaming computing system 310 and one or morefinancial institutions 302.

The funds management server 308 can communicate financial information tothe financial institution 302. This financial information isschematically illustrated as wager report 306. The wager report 306 caninclude any information as may be needed by the financial institution302 to post a provisional credit to the financial account 304. The wagerreport 306 can include, for example, the modality of player funds, theamount of net new cash collected at one or more gaming devices 314 overa certain time period, such as since a previous wager report wastransmitted. In some embodiments, the wager report 306 is transmitted tothe financial institution 302 periodically, such as an hourly or daily.In some embodiments, the wager report 306 is transmitted to thefinancial institution 302 in real-time or substantially real-time as thegaming computing system 310 transmits wagering information to the fundsmanagement server 308. In some embodiments, wagering information isaggregated at the gaming computing system 310. In some embodiments thefunds management server 308 aggregates wagering information prior totransmitting to the financial institution 302.

The financial institution 302 can post a provisional credit to thefinancial account 304 that is associated with the gaming establishmentat which the wagering occurred. Eventually, for currency-based wagers,the currency 316 will be physically removed from the gaming device 314for processing by the gaming establishment. The currency 316 can betransferred to a count room for counting and bundling. The bundled fundsare eventually physically transported to a branch of the financialinstitution 302 maintaining the financial account 304 of the gamingestablishment. In accordance with the present disclosure, some or all ofthe funds delivered to the financial institution 302 may have alreadybeen credited to the financial account 304 in the form of a provisionalcredit. Through treasury management techniques, the financialinstitution 302 can process the physical funds during an intake processand rectify and convert the provisional credits to full credits, as maybe appropriate. Additionally, eventually settled funds 318 will bereceived from the financial institution 330 (i.e., via an automatedclearinghouse (ACH) transaction) based on the transaction thatpreviously occurred at the gaming device 314. In accordance with thepresent disclosure, some or all of the funds settled to the financialinstitution 302 may have already been credited to the financial account304 in the form of a provisional credit. Through treasury managementtechniques, the financial institution 302 can also process the settledfunds and rectify and convert the provisional credits to full credits,as may be appropriate.

FIG. 4 depicts an example system diagram utilizing a funds managementserver 408 to facilitate provisionally crediting of a financial account404 based on wagering activity at a variety of different gaming devices514 in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment. In FIG. 4 , thegaming devices are schematically illustrated as a cage 414A, slotmachines 414B, table games 414C, a poker room 414D, and a race/sportsbook 414E. Each of these devices is configured to provide wager reportsto a gaming computing system 410, which can include one or moreprocessors 413 and one or more computer memory units 415. Forconvenience, only one processor 413 and only one memory unit 415 areshown in FIG. 4 . The processor 413 can execute software instructionsstored on the memory unit 415. The processor 413 can be implemented asan integrated circuit (IC) having one or multiple cores. The memory unit415 can include volatile and/or non-volatile memory units. Volatilememory units can include random access memory (RAM), for example.Non-volatile memory units can include read only memory (ROM), forexample, as well as mechanical non-volatile memory systems, such as, forexample, a hard disk drive, an optical disk drive, etc. The RAM and/orROM memory units can be implemented as discrete memory ICs, for example.In some embodiments, the gaming computing system 410 can execute theslot management system (SMS), table management system (TMS), cagemanagement system, and/or the casino management system (CMS), asdescribed above.

A funds management server 408 can be hosted by or otherwise operated bya transaction facilitator 409. The transaction facilitator 409 can haveone or more processors and one or more computer memory units. Thetransaction facilitator 409 can also be in closed communication with afinancial institution 402 that maintains a financial account 404associated with a gaming establishment at which wagering is transpiring.It is noted that while the transaction facilitator 409 is schematicallyillustrated as a single entity, it is to be appreciated that thisdisclosure is not so limited. Instead, the functionality of thetransaction facilitator 409, as described herein, can be distributedacross, or otherwise performed by, a plurality of various entities, suchpayment gateways, acquirer processors, and other types of paymentintermediaries. Also, the transaction facilitator 409, or at leastcomponents thereof, can reside within a gaming environment (see gamingenvironment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 , for example) or be controlled by anoperator of the gaming environment. In such embodiment, the transactionfacilitator 409 can be configured to communicate with financialinstitution 402 through a secured communication link. Further, thetransaction facilitator 409, or at least components thereof, can becontrolled by the financial institution 402. Therefore, the transactionfacilitator 409 may be operated by, or otherwise controlled by a varietyof different entities. The transaction facilitator 409 can also have aone-to-one processing relationship with a gaming computing system 410,as illustrated. It is to be appreciated, however, that the transactionfacilitator 409 can also have a one-to-many configuration such that ithas a processing relationship with a plurality of gaming computingsystems or gaming computing systems associated with a plurality ofdifferent financial institutions. Furthermore, as described above withregard to FIG. 1B, in some implementations a first financial institutioncan be used to issue provisional crediting services and a secondfinancial institution can be used to hold account(s) for cash deposits.

The funds management server 408 of the transaction facilitator 409 canbe embodied as any type of computing device or server or capable ofprocessing, communicating, storing, maintaining, and transferring data.For example, the funds management server 408 can be embodied as aserver, a microcomputer, a minicomputer, a mainframe, a desktopcomputer, a laptop computer, a mobile computing device, a handheldcomputer, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a personal digitalassistant, a telephony device, a custom chip, an embedded processingdevice, or other computing device and/or suitable programmable device.In some embodiments, the funds management server 408 can be embodied asa computing device integrated with other systems or subsystems. In theillustrative embodiment of FIG. 4 , the funds management server 408includes a processor 440, a system bus 441, a memory 442, a data storage444, communication circuitry 446, and one or more peripheral devices448. Of course, the funds management server 408 can include other oradditional components, such as those commonly found in a server and/orcomputer (e.g., various input/output devices), in other embodiments.Additionally, in some embodiments, one or more of the illustrativecomponents can be incorporated in, or otherwise from a portion of,another component. For example, the memory 442, or portions thereof, canbe incorporated in the processor 440 in some embodiments. Furthermore,it should be appreciated that the funds management server 408 caninclude other components, sub-components, and devices commonly found ina computer and/or computing device, which are not illustrated in FIG. 4for clarity of the description.

The processor 440 can be embodied as any type of processor capable ofperforming the functions described herein. For example, the processor440 can be embodied as a single or multi-core processor, a digitalsignal processor, microcontroller, a general purpose central processingunit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) processor, aprocessor having a pipeline, a complex instruction set computer (CISC)processor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), aprogrammable logic device (PLD), a field programmable gate array (FPGA),or other processor or processing/controlling circuit or controller.

In various configurations, the funds management server 408 includes asystem bus 441 for interconnecting the various components of the fundsmanagement server 408. The system bus 441 can be embodied as, orotherwise include, memory controller hubs, input/output control hubs,firmware devices, communication links (i.e., point-to-point links, buslinks, wires, cables, light guides, printed circuit board traces, etc.)and/or other components and subsystems to facilitate the input/outputoperations with the processor 440, the memory 442, and other componentsof the funds management server 408. In some embodiments, the fundsmanagement server 408 can be integrated into one or more chips such as aprogrammable logic device or an application specific integrated circuit(ASIC). In such embodiments, the system bus 441 can form a portion of asystem-on-a-chip (SoC) and be incorporated, along with the processor440, the memory 442, and other components of the funds management server408, on a single integrated circuit chip.

The memory 442 can be embodied as any type of volatile or non-volatilememory or data storage capable of performing the functions describedherein. For example, the memory 442 can be embodied as read only memory(ROM), random access memory (RAM), cache memory associated with theprocessor 440, or other memories such as dynamic RAM (DRAM), static ram(SRAM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM),flash memory, a removable memory card or disk, a solid state drive, andso forth. In operation, the memory 442 can store various data andsoftware used during operation of the funds management server 408 suchas operating systems, applications, programs, libraries, and drivers.

The data storage 444 can be embodied as any type of device or devicesconfigured for short-term or long-term storage of data such as, forexample, memory devices and circuits, memory cards, hard disk drives,solid-state drives, or other data storage devices. For example, in someembodiments, the data storage 444 includes storage media such as astorage device that can be configured to have multiple modules, such asmagnetic disk drives, floppy drives, tape drives, hard drives, opticaldrives and media, magneto-optical drives and media, compact disc drives,Compact Disc Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), Compact Disc Recordable (CD-R),Compact Disc Rewriteable (CD-RW), a suitable type of Digital VersatileDisc (DVD) or Blu-Ray disc, and so forth. Storage media such as flashdrives, solid state hard drives, redundant array of individual disks(RAID), virtual drives, networked drives and other memory meansincluding storage media on the processor 440, or the memory 442 are alsocontemplated as storage devices. It should be appreciated that suchmemory can be internal or external with respect to operation of thedisclosed embodiments. It should also be appreciated that certainportions of the processes described herein can be performed usinginstructions stored on a computer-readable medium or media that director otherwise instruct a computer system to perform the process steps.Non-transitory computer-readable media, as used herein, comprises allcomputer-readable media except for transitory, propagating signals.

The communication circuitry 446 of the funds management server 408 maybe embodied as any type of communication circuit, device, interface, orcollection thereof, capable of enabling communications between the fundsmanagement server 408 and the financial institution 402 (or computingdevices thereof), the gaming computing system 410 (or computing devicesthereof), and/or any other computing device communicatively coupledthereto. For example, the communication circuitry 446 may be embodied asone or more network interface controllers (NICs), in some embodiments.The communication circuitry 446 may be configured to use any one or morecommunication technologies (e.g., wireless or wired communications) andassociated protocols (e.g., Ethernet, Wi-Fi®, WiMAX, etc.) to effectsuch communication.

In some embodiments, the funds management server 408 and the financialinstitution 402, the gaming computing system 410 and/or any othercomputing devices of the system 100, can communicate with each otherover one or more networks. The network(s) can be embodied as any numberof various wired and/or wireless communication networks. For example,the network(s) can be embodied as or otherwise include a local areanetwork (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a cellular network, aprivate/secure network, or a publicly-accessible, global network such asthe Internet. Additionally, the network(s) can include any number ofadditional devices to facilitate communication between the computingdevices of the system.

Additionally, in some embodiments, the funds management server 408 canfurther include one or more peripheral devices 448. Such peripheraldevices 448 can include any type of peripheral device commonly found ina computing device such as additional data storage, speakers, a hardwarekeyboard, a keypad, a gesture or graphical input device, a motion inputdevice, a touchscreen interface, one or more displays, an audio unit, avoice recognition unit, a vibratory device, a computer mouse, aperipheral communication device, and any other suitable user interface,input/output device, and/or other peripheral device.

Similar to the system described in FIG. 3 , one or more of the gamingdevices 414 can be configured to electronically provide wageringinformation to the gaming computing system 410. In turn, the gamingcomputing system 410 can electronically provide wagering information(i.e. an amount of net new cash collected at one or more gaming devices)to the transaction facilitator 409 through network communication links.The funds management server 408 of the transaction facilitator 409 can,in turn, electronically provide wagering information to the financialinstitution 402 so that a provisional credit 404A can be posted to afinancial account 404. At a later point in time, the player funds 448will be deposited into the account 404. For player funds 448 that arephysical currency, it will be taken from the gaming devices 414 andtransferred to a count room. The counted and bundled funds can then betransported to a branch of the financial institution 402, at which pointthe provisional credit 404A can be converted (either fully or partially)to a full credit 404B. For players funds 448 that are electronic funds,the settled funds will eventually be received from an issuing financialinstitution or other repository (i.e., a demand deposit account of theplayer). Once received, the provisional credit 404A issued for thoseelectronic funds can be converted (either fully or partially) to a fullcredit 404B.

In some implementations, the risk allocation of the various financialtransactions can be split, apportioned, or transferred to variousentities with this system. For example, in one embodiment, thetransaction facilitator 409 can, optionally, assume the risk of makingsure that the funds are ultimately deposited at the financialinstitution 402. In this arrangement, if the funds do not ultimatelyarrive at the financial institution 402, the financial institution 402could seek recourse from the transaction facilitator 409.

FIG. 5 depicts an example system diagram utilizing a funds managementserver 508 of a transaction facilitator 509 to enable provisionallycrediting of a financial account 504 based on wagering activity at avariety of different gaming devices each of which are within a gamingenvironment, in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment. In FIG. 5 ,the gaming devices are schematically illustrated as gaming devices 522A,522B . . . 522N positioned within a gaming environment 500 (e.g. abrick-and-mortar casino). Each of the gaming devices 522A, 522B . . .522N are configured to provide wager reports to a gaming computingsystem 510, which can include one or more processors 532 and one or morecomputer memory units 534.

The particular type, design and functionality of each of the gamingdevices 522A, 522B . . . 522N can vary. Merely for the purposes ofillustration, gaming device 522A is shown as a slot machine (or othervideo-based wagering game) having a display 550, an input device 552,and a counter 554 to track gaming credits. Gaming device 522B can be,for example, associated with a table game in which a player or dealerfeeds currency into a bill reader 556. The gaming device 522B can alsoaccept other forms of player funds, such as electronic funds. In someembodiments, the bill reader 556 is mounted proximate to the playersurface of a table game such that a dealer, or other suitable person,can readily insert player funds during gameplay. Gaming device 522C canhave a display 550 and an input device 552 and can be, for example,associated with a casino cage, poker room, or other wagering area inwhich player funds are tendered. The input device 552 can be a cardreader, a bill reader, a NFC transponder, and so forth. In someembodiments, player information 549 (such as a player's card number) canalso be provided to the gaming device by the player.

The gaming devices 522A, 522B . . . 522N can electronically providewagering information to one or more gaming computing systems 510. Inturn, the gaming computing system 510 can electronically providewagering information to the transaction facilitator 509 through networkcommunication links. In some embodiments, player information 549 isincluded in the data transmitted to the transaction facilitator 509. Thefunds management server 508 of the transaction facilitator 509 can, inturn, electronically provide wagering information to the financialinstitution 502 so that a provisional credit 504A can be posted to afinancial account 504. At a later point in time, physical currency canbe taken from the gaming devices 522A, 522B . . . 522N and transferredto a count room 530. The counted and bundled funds can then betransported to a branch of the financial institution 502, at which pointthe provisional credit 504A associated with the physical currency can beconverted (either fully or partially) to a full credit 504B. Similarly,if electronic funds were used for wagering, at a later point in time,settled funds from an issuing bank can be received by the financialinstitution 502, at which point provisional credits 504A associated withthe electronic funds can be converted (either fully or partially) to afull credit 504B.

FIG. 6 depicts an example operational environment in which a pluralityof different types of gaming devices operating within a gamingenvironment each function as a virtual vaults. As illustrated, a gamingenvironment 600 is also shown to include a casino management system 610Athat is communication with a slot management system 610B and a tablemanagement system 610C. The slot management system 610B is incommunication with a plurality of slot machines 680, each of whichincludes a funds input device 682. Depending on the configuration of theslot machine 680, the funds input device 682 can receive player funds ofvarying modalities, such as currency, electronic funds, and so forth. Asdescribed above, as players provide player funds to each of the slotmachines 680, wager reports can be electronically provided to the slotmanagement system 610B throughout suitable network connectivity. Thetable management system 610C can be in communication with a plurality oftable game types, such as electronic table games 686, traditional tablegames 690, as well as other types of table games, sometimes referred toas hybrid table games (not shown). Electronic table games 686 cangenerally simulate table gameplay through the use of various electronicdisplays and interactive elements. Each of the electronic table games686 can include a funds input device 688 to receive player funds.Traditional table games 690 can include “felt top” games that include alive dealer. Each of the traditional table games 690 can include a fundinput device 692 to receive player funds. In some embodiments, thedealer may place player funds into the fund input device 692 upon theplayer purchasing chips from the dealer. It is noted that any suitabletechnology can be used as the funds input device 692. For example, insome embodiments, video recognition technology can be used to determinethe amount of funds tendered to the dealer from the player during a chippurchase event. In some embodiments, RFID technology, or other NFCtechnologies, incorporated into the chips or other aspects of the tablescan similarly be used to track the wagering activity of the player.

As illustrated, various other gaming devices 670 can be in communicationwith the casino management system 610A. These gaming devices 670 can belocated in a casino cage, a poker room, a race/sports book, and soforth. These gaming devices 670 can have a funds input device 672 toreceive player funds (either directly from the player or via anintermediary, such as a cashier) and provide reporting to the casinomanagement system 610A.

Furthermore, the casino management system 610A (or other suitabletracking system) can be used to monitor mobile-based wagering.Mobile-base wagering can include wagering occurring on a player's mobilecomputing device, such as a smart phone, tablet, desktop computer,laptop computer and so forth. In some embodiments, the mobile wageringis on premises, as depicted by mobile wagering 660. In some embodiments,the mobile wagering is off premises, as depicted by mobile wagering 666,In any event, a funds input device 662, 666 (such as a virtual POS) canbe used to receive funds from the player, often in the form ofelectronic funds, and such wagering can be reported to the casinomanagement system 610A.

The gaming computing system 610A can electronically provide wageringinformation to a transaction facilitator 609 through networkcommunication links. A funds management server 608 of the transactionfacilitator 509 can, in turn, electronically provide wageringinformation to the financial institution 602 so that provisional credits604A can be posted to a financial account 604. As depicted, theprovisional credits 604A can be posted as result from player funds beingtendered to any number of fund input devices inside or outside thegaming environment 600. At a later point in time, physical currency willbe taken from the gaming devices and transported to the financialinstitution 602 and/or settled funds from an issuing bank or otherentity will be received by the financial institution 502. Once thecurrency and/or settled funds are received and processed, theprovisional credits 604A associated with the electronic funds can beconverted (either fully or partially) to a full credit 604B.

FIG. 7 depicts an example message sequence chart in accordance with onenon-limiting embodiment. The physical transfer of funds is schematicallyshown using solid lines and electronic communication messaging is shownusing dotted lines. A player 701 first tenders funds to a gaming device722, either directly or through an intermediary, such as a dealer,cashier, pit boss, etc. As described above, the gaming device 722 can beany suitable device or system that is configured to transmit wageringinformation to a networked device. The gaming device 722 then provides awager report to a gaming computing system 710. This wager report can beprovided at any suitable time, such as in real-time, substantiallyreal-time, in batch, or upon request, for example. The gaming computingsystem 710 transmits a wager report to a funds management server 720.The wager report provided by the gaming computing system 710 can be, forexample, a report aggregating a plurality of wager reports received fromone or more gaming devices. This wager report can be provided by thegaming computing system 710 at any suitable time, such as in real-time,substantially real-time, in batch, or upon request, for example. Thefunds management server 720 can then transmit a wager report to afinancial institution 702. The wager report provided by the fundsmanagement server 720 can be, for example, a report aggregating aplurality of wager reports received from the gaming computing system710. The financial institution can then post a provisional credit to afinancial account 704. The value of the provisional credit can be equalto the amount of net new funds received at the gaming device 722, orless than the full amount.

Referring again the gaming device 722, the funds are eventually removedand transferred to a count room 730. Subsequent to processing, armoredtransport 760 can be utilized to deliver the funds to the financialinstitution 702. Based upon the value of the deposited physical funds,the financial institution can convert some or all of the provisionalcredit to a full credit.

FIG. 8 depicts another example message sequence chart in accordance withone non-limiting embodiment. A player 801 first tenders electronic fundsto a gaming device 822, either directly or through an intermediary, suchas a dealer or cashier, or via an online portal or application. Thegaming device 822 then provides a wager report to a gaming computingsystem 810. This wager report can be provided at any suitable time, suchas in real-time, substantially real-time, in batch, or upon request, forexample. The gaming computing system 810 transmits a wager report to afunds management server 820. The wager report provided by the gamingcomputing system 810 can be, for example, a report aggregating aplurality of wager reports received from one or more gaming devices.This wager report can be provided by the gaming computing system 810 atany suitable time, such as in real-time, substantially real-time, inbatch, or upon request, for example. The funds management server 820 canthen transmit a wager report to a financial institution 802. The wagerreport provided by the funds management server 820 can be, for example,a report aggregating a plurality of wager reports received from thegaming computing system 810. The financial institution can then post aprovisional credit to a financial account 804. The value of theprovisional credit can be equal to the amount of net new funds receivedat the gaming device 822, or less than the full amount. Settled fundsare eventually received from a player financial institution 830,sometimes more than 1-3 days after the original wager was placed. Basedupon the value of the settled funds, the financial institution canconvert some or all of the provisional credit to a full credit.

FIG. 9 depicts an example message sequence chart in accordance with onenon-limiting embodiment in which multiple financial institutions areutilized. As with FIG. 7 , the physical transfer of funds isschematically shown using solid lines and electronic communicationmessaging is shown using dotted lines. A player 901 first tenders fundsto a gaming device 922, either directly or through an intermediary, suchas a dealer, cashier, pit boss, etc. As described above, the gamingdevice 922 can be any suitable device or system that is configured totransmit wagering information to a networked device. The gaming device922 then provides a wager report to a gaming computing system 910. Thiswager report can be provided at any suitable time, such as in real-time,substantially real-time, in batch, or upon request, for example. Thegaming computing system 910 transmits a wager report to a fundsmanagement server 920. The wager report provided by the gaming computingsystem 910 can be, for example, a report aggregating a plurality ofwager reports received from one or more gaming devices. This wagerreport can be provided by the gaming computing system 910 at anysuitable time, such as in real-time, substantially real-time, in batch,or upon request, for example. The funds management server 920 can thentransmit a wager report to a first financial institution 902A. The wagerreport provided by the funds management server 920 can be, for example,a report aggregating a plurality of wager reports received from thegaming computing system 910. The first financial institution 902A canthen post a provisional credit to a first financial account 904A. Thevalue of the provisional credit can be equal to the amount of net newfunds received at the gaming device 922, or less than the full amount.

Benefits can be gained based on the a provisional credits posted to thefirst financial account 904A until the currency held by the gamingdevice 922 is, or could have been, physically accessed. Eventually, apoint of access of the gaming device 922 is opened and an access statusindicator is provided to the gaming computing system 910 by the gamingdevice 922. The gaming computing system 910 transmits the access statusto the funds management server 920. The funds management server 920 candetermine the amount of provisional credits to be reversed based on theaccess event (or collection of access events) and a reversal command istransmitted to the first financial institution 902A via suitablecommunications. The first financial institution 902A then reverses theamount of provisional credits identified in the reversal command.Referring again the gaming device 922, the funds are eventually removedand transferred to a count room 930. Subsequent to processing, armoredtransport 960 can be utilized to deliver the funds to the secondfinancial institution 902B. Based upon the value of the depositedphysical funds, the second financial institution 902B can credit thesecond financial account 904B.

It is to be understood that the figures and descriptions of the presentinvention have been simplified to illustrate elements that are relevantfor a clear understanding of the present invention, while eliminating,for purposes of clarity, other elements. Those of ordinary skill in theart will recognize, however, that these sorts of focused discussionswould not facilitate a better understanding of the present invention,and therefore, a more detailed description of such elements is notprovided herein.

Any element expressed herein as a means for performing a specifiedfunction is intended to encompass any way of performing that functionincluding, for example, a combination of elements that performs thatfunction. Furthermore the invention, as may be defined by suchmeans-plus-function claims, resides in the fact that the functionalitiesprovided by the various recited means are combined and brought togetherin a manner as defined by the appended claims. Therefore, any means thatcan provide such functionalities may be considered equivalents to themeans shown herein.

Moreover, the processes associated with the present embodiments may beexecuted by programmable equipment, such as computers. Software or othersets of instructions that may be employed to cause programmableequipment to execute the processes may be stored in any storage device,such as, for example, a computer system (non-volatile) memory, anoptical disk, magnetic tape, or magnetic disk. Furthermore, some of theprocesses may be programmed when the computer system is manufactured orvia a computer-readable memory medium.

It can also be appreciated that certain process aspects described hereinmay be performed using instructions stored on a computer-readable memorymedium or media that direct a computer or computer system to performprocess steps. A computer-readable medium may include, for example,memory devices such as diskettes, compact discs of both read-only andread/write varieties, optical disk drives, and hard disk drives. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium may also include memory storagethat may be physical, virtual, permanent, temporary, semi-permanentand/or semi-temporary.

A “computer,” “computer system,” “host,” “engine,” or “processor” maybe, for example and without limitation, a processor, microcomputer,minicomputer, server, mainframe, laptop, personal data assistant (PDA),wireless e-mail device, cellular phone, pager, processor, fax machine,scanner, or any other programmable device configured to transmit and/orreceive data over a network. Computer systems and computer-based devicesdisclosed herein may include memory for storing certain softwareapplications used in obtaining, processing, and communicatinginformation. It can be appreciated that such memory may be internal orexternal with respect to operation of the disclosed embodiments. Thememory may also include any means for storing software, including a harddisk, an optical disk, floppy disk, ROM (read only memory), RAM (randomaccess memory), PROM (programmable ROM), EEPROM (electrically erasablePROM) and/or other computer-readable memory media.

In various embodiments of the present invention, a single component maybe replaced by multiple components, and multiple components may bereplaced by a single component, to perform a given function orfunctions. Except where such substitution would not be operative topractice embodiments of the present invention, such substitution iswithin the scope of the present invention. Any of the servers describedherein, for example, may be replaced by a “server farm” or othergrouping of networked servers (e.g., a group of server blades) that arelocated and configured for cooperative functions. It can be appreciatedthat a server farm may serve to distribute workload between/amongindividual components of the farm and may expedite computing processesby harnessing the collective and cooperative power of multiple servers.Such server farms may employ load-balancing software that accomplishestasks such as, for example, tracking demand for processing power fromdifferent machines, prioritizing and scheduling tasks based on networkdemand, and/or providing backup contingency in the event of componentfailure or reduction in operability.

The examples presented herein are intended to illustrate potential andspecific implementations. It can be appreciated that the examples areintended primarily for purposes of illustration of the invention forthose skilled in the art. No particular aspect or aspects of theexamples are necessarily intended to limit the scope of the presentdisclosure. For example, no particular aspect or aspects of the examplesof system architectures, table layouts, or report formats describedherein are necessarily intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.

In general, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art thatvarious embodiments described herein, or components or parts thereof,may be implemented in many different embodiments of software, firmware,and/or hardware, or modules thereof. The software code or specializedcontrol hardware used to implement some of the present embodiments isnot limiting of the present invention. Such software may be stored onany type of suitable computer-readable medium or media such as, forexample, a magnetic or optical storage medium. Thus, the operation andbehavior of the embodiments are described without specific reference tothe actual software code or specialized hardware components. The absenceof such specific references is feasible because it is clearly understoodthat artisans of ordinary skill would be able to design software andcontrol hardware to implement the embodiments of the present disclosurebased on the description herein with only a reasonable effort andwithout undue experimentation.

In various embodiments, the systems and methods described herein may beconfigured and/or programmed to include one or more of theabove-described electronic, computer-based elements and components. Inaddition, these elements and components may be particularly configuredto execute the various rules, algorithms, programs, processes, andmethod steps described herein.

While various embodiments have been described herein, it should beapparent, however, that various modifications, alterations andadaptations to those embodiments may occur to persons skilled in the artwith the attainment of some or all of the advantages of the presentdisclosure. The disclosed embodiments are therefore intended to includeall such modifications, alterations and adaptations without departingfrom the scope and spirit of the present disclosure as set forth in theappended claims.

1. A wager crediting system, comprising: a funds management server innetworked communication with a gaming environment and a financialinstitution computing system, wherein the gaming environment comprises aplurality of gaming devices that each accepts player funds for wagering,and wherein the funds management server comprises at least one processorand non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions storedthereon which when executed by a processor cause the processor to:receive a wager report, wherein the wager report indicates an amount ofnet new player funds received at a gaming device, wherein the gamingdevice is one of the plurality of gaming devices; based on the amount ofnet new player funds indicated on the wager report, communicate with thefinancial institution computing system to cause the issuance of aprovisional credit to a financial account maintained at a financialinstitution associated with the gaming environment; subsequent to theissuance of the provisional credit to the financial account, receivefrom an indication of an access event at the gaming device; based onreceiving the indication of the access event, cause a reversal of theprovisional credit issued to the financial account by the fundsmanagement serve based on receiving the indication of the access event;and communicate with the financial institution computing system to causeat least part of the provisional credit to be reversed.
 2. The wagercrediting system of claim 1, wherein the amount of net new player fundscomprises an amount of currency, an amount of electronic funds, or acombination of the amount of currency and the amount of electronicfunds.
 3. The wager crediting system of claim 1, wherein the amount ofnet new player funds comprises an amount of electronic funds.
 4. Thewager crediting system of claim 1, wherein the amount of net new playerfunds comprises an amount of currency.
 5. The wager crediting system ofclaim 1, wherein the gaming device is any of a slot machine, a videopoker machine, a casino cage machine, and a table game.
 6. The wagercrediting system of claim 1, wherein the gaming environment comprisescomprise a slot management system and the funds management server innetworked communication with the a slot management system.
 7. Acomputer-based method of crediting player funds received by a gamingdevice, the method performed by a funds management server comprisinginstructions stored in a memory, which when executed by one or moreprocessors of the funds management server, cause the funds managementserver to perform the method comprising: receiving an indication of afirst amount of net new player funds received at a first gaming deviceof a gaming environment, wherein the first amount of net new playerfunds comprises any of an amount of currency received at the firstgaming device and an amount of electronic funds received at the firstgaming device; based on the first amount of net new player funds,causing the issuance of a first provisional credit to a financialaccount maintained at a financial institution associated with the gamingenvironment; receiving an indication of a second amount of net newplayer funds received at a second gaming device of the gamingenvironment, wherein the second amount of net new player funds comprisesany of an amount of currency received at the second gaming device and anamount of electronic funds received at the second gaming device; basedon the second amount of net new player funds, causing the issuance of asecond provisional credit to the financial account maintained at thefinancial institution associated with the gaming environment; and basedon receiving an indication of an access event at the first gamingdevice, causing at least a portion of the first provisional credit tothe be reversed, and wherein the first provisional credit for isrecognized as a full credit only upon the receipt of settled funds bythe financial institution or the receipt of physical funds by thefinancial institution.
 8. The computer-based method of claim 7, furthercomprising: based on receiving an indication of an access event at thesecond gaming device, causing at least a portion of the secondprovisional credit to the be reversed, and wherein the secondprovisional credit for is recognized as a full credit only upon thereceipt of settled funds by the financial institution or the receipt ofphysical funds by the financial institution.
 9. The computer-basedmethod of claim 8, wherein each of the first and second gamine devicesare any of a slot machine, a video poker machine, a casino cage machine,and a table game.
 10. The computer-based method of claim 7, wherein atleast one of the first and second gaming devices is a mobile computingdevice.
 11. A computer-based method of crediting player funds receivedby a gaming device, the method performed by a funds management server incommunication with a gaming environment and a financial institutioncomputing system, the funds management server comprising instructionsstored in a memory, which when executed by one or more processors of thefunds management server, cause the funds management server to performthe method comprising: receiving by the funds management server from thegaming environment, an indication of an amount of net new player fundsreceived at each of a plurality of gaming devices; causing the issuanceby the financial institution computing system of a provisional credit toa financial account maintained at a financial institution based on theamount of net new player funds; subsequent to the issuance of theprovisional credit to the financial account, receiving from the gamingenvironment an indication of an access event at one of the plurality ofgaming devices; and based on receiving the indication of the accessevent, causing a reversal of at least a portion of the provisionalcredit issued to the financial account by the funds management server.12. The computer-based method of claim 11, wherein each of the pluralityof gaming devices is any of a slot machine, a video poker machine, acasino cage machine, and a table game.
 13. The computer-based method ofclaim 11, wherein each of the plurality of gaming devices is any of adesktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a smart phone,and a mobile computing device.
 14. The computer-based method of claim11, wherein the indication of the amount of net new player funds isreceived by the funds management server in substantially real-timesubsequent to each of the plurality of gaming devices receiving theplayer funds.
 15. The computer-based method of claim 11, wherein theindication of the amount of net new player funds received is received bythe funds management server comprises an amount of net new fundsreceived at each of the plurality of gaming devices over a period oftime.
 16. The computer-based method of claim 11, wherein the amount ofnet new player funds comprises any of: an amount of currency received atthe gaming device; and an amount of electronic funds received at thegaming device.
 17. The computer-based method of claim 11, whereincausing the reversal of the at least a portion of provisional creditissued by the financial account by the funds management server comprisestransmitting to the financial institution computing system an amount ofprovisional credit to be reversed.
 18. The computer-based method ofclaim 11, wherein the indication of an amount of net new player funds isprovided to the funds management server in a wager report.
 19. Thecomputer-based method of claim 11, wherein at least one of the pluralityof gaming devices is a mobile computing device physically located withina gaming environment when the net new player funds are received.
 20. Thecomputer-based method of claim 11, wherein at least one of the pluralityof gaming devices is a mobile computing device that is physicallyoutside a gaming environment.